Improvement in electric clocks



KENNEDY, HOLT & GERLACH.

Electric Clock.

Nm 3,772. Reissued Dec. 21. 1869.

N. PEYEns momh nw. Walkman. n.c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THE KENNEDY ELECTRIC CLOCK COMPANY, ASSIGNEE OF S. A. KENNEDY, S. W.HOLT, AND J. GERLACH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN ELECTRIC CLOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 71,624, dated December3, 1867 Reissue No. 3,772, dated December 21, 1869.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that SAMUEL A. KENNEDY, of Attleborough, Bucks county, inthe State of Pennsylvania, and S. W. HOLT and J osEPH GERLAOH, of thecity and county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, invented anew and usefulIm provement inElectric Clocks; and we, THE KENNEDYELECTRIC CLooK 00M- PANY, of New York, in the county of New York andState of New York, by our president and secretary, do hereby declarethat the following is a full and exact description thereof, referencebeing bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon.

The nature of the invention mainly consists in forming and breaking theconnection with the positive and negative poles of a battery by means ofa sliding bar operated by the pendulum, and arranged and operating ashereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, which make a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved clock. Fig. 2is an edgeview of the same. Fig. 3 is a front view of the pendulum H and magnet Min connection. Fig.4is an edge view of the same. Fig. 5 is a front viewof a modification of the said bar and pendulum. Fig. 6 is an edge viewof the same. Fig. 7 is a vertical section of the pawl I. Fig. 8 is anisometrical view of the forked bar G and parts in connection therewith.Fig. 9 is a like view of the lever F. Fig. 10 is a like view of one ofthe brackets m. Fig. ll is a top view of the bridge K. Fig. 12 is avertical section of the same. Fig. 13 is a bottom view of the saidbridge. Fig. let is an isometrieal view of the bar L.

A is a board to which the several parts of the clock are attached.

A is a shelf which supports the vertical plates B B that support thejournals of the shafts a b c of the center wheel, C, the second wheel,D, and the ratchet-wheel E.

F is a vertical lever, which is actuated by the pendulum H,forgiving anautomaticmotion to the ratchet-wheel E, there being a slotted. arm, d,of the lever, which receives the pin 6 of the forked bar Cr, in whichthe pawl, I, is hung by means of the horizontal rod f. The upper end ofthe said bar G is permanently confined to the rock-shaftj. At eachvibration of the pendulum from right to left the paw is drawn outwardfrom the ratchet-wheel by the pendulum bearin g against the pin 9 ofsaid lever F, and when the pendulum swings back to the right the weightof the lever andforked bar forces the pawl forward until the arm h ofsaid bar bears against the edge of the contiguous vertical plate B.

The resistance of the clock-work is not always constant, and accuracy isnot obtained 1 if the pendulum meets with variable resistance hence,instead of driving the pawl l and the ratchet-wheel E by the directforce of the pendulum, a constant weight, as the lever F, is employedfor this purpose, whereby the work required of and the resistance to thependulum in lifting lever F or any uniform weight is always constant.

There is a set-screw j in the lug k of the forked bar G, by which theheel end of the pawl is borne down more or less to give a longeror-shorter catch of the pawl to regulate the motion of theratchet-wheel, and there is'a set-screw, Z, in the heel of the pawl forequalizing the balance of the same, so as to prevent its falling toohard upon the ratchet.

J is the click-lever.

K is an adjustable bridge supported by the brackets m and m. The bridgeis provided with plates, n and n, that communicate with the magneticwires, there being insulated projections 00, which have wires 1; p and p19' connected with the main-circuit wires.

L is abar to break the circuit, it having points 1 2, which communicatealternately at each motion of the pendulum with the wires 19 and p inthe projections o and o, the pin 9 of the pendulum, bearing alternatelyagainst the vertical parts 3 and 4 of the bar, and thus changing thepoints 1 and 2 with the wires 11 p and p 10, so as to change thecurrent. The points 1 and2 of the bar L, and the upper ends of thecircuit wires p p in the projections 0 0' of the bridge K, are of gold.The said projections o and 0 have grooved facings, as seen in Figs. 11and 12, to guide the points 1 and 2 of the bar L. The former facings aremade of brass and the latter of agate.

The pendulum His shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4, Sheet No. 2; theforked bar G and parts attached in Fig. 8 the lever F in Fig.

9; one of the brackets m in Fig. 10; the bridge K in Figs. 11, 12, and13, and the sliding bar L in Fig. 14.

The arm h and pin 0 may be an extension of the rod f in the forked barG, as represented in Fig. 8.

The pendulum H has a magnetized bar, M, which is actuated to produce thevibration of the pendulum by the electric coils S and S,

' that are in the drawing placed above the center of motion. They may,however, be placed below the centre when desired, as the same resultwould be produced. We contemplate using four or more coils when we wantmore power, and also having a plurality of the magnetized bars M in thependulum H. In Figs. 5 and 9 four are represented, which are insulatedon their bearings by means of a thin coating of of wax or otherwise.

The current, commencing with the platinum or positive pole of a battery,passes through the button r, and thence through the button 1" to thecoil S, and from that to S, as indicated by'the arrows, and through thebutton 1*, andthence through the button 9", and through the stud s onthe bridge K thence through the projection 0 to pointp. The currentpasses from thence through the screw t, which communicates with thebracket m, to which is connected the wire leading to the negative poleof the battery; thence through the button 7".

The circuit is closed when the pendulum is swung to the right,.asrepresented in the drawings; but when it is swung to the left it movesthe sliding bar L so as to bring the points 1 and 2 into connection withthe points 11 p of the projections 0 and 0, thus changing the current asit passes from r to T thence through the stud s, and thence to the pointp in the. projection 0 on the bridge K to the sliding;

bar L at the point 2, and passes through said bar to its point 1, whereit communicates with the wire 19 in the projection 0; thence to screw 1in the bracket m to the wire leading to the negative pole of the batterythrough button if. When the pendulum comes into the position as it nowstands the magnet M enters the coil S, and being repelled by the samethe motion of the pendulum is changed from right to left, and when itreaches the coil S the sliding bar L closes the circuit through the saidcoil, and the pendulum is again repelled back to the right, and thus themovement is continuously kept up.

The coils S and S must be so connected in the circuit that each shallrespectively present the same polarity as that of the nearest end of themagnet m.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Vibrating a pendulum having a magnet attached thereto by means of twoelectric coils, arranged one at each end of the magnet, the said magnetand coils having their corresponding poles placed opposite to eachother, as shown and described.

2. Actuating the driving-pawl of a clock of an oscillating pendulum, inthe manner set.

forth.

NATHANIEL BERRY, P'rst. O. H. SGHREINER, Secretary.

Witnesses GEo. M. HARD, G. H. VALENTINE.

